The Malik Report

Writers are supposed to be objective and not make themselves the story. Usually, that’s no problem. I have covered many big events, and though I enjoy my job and feel fortunate to do it, I don’t root for anyone and don’t get overly excited for anything anymore.

But I’m breaking the rules now, because this Winter Classic presents a problem for me. I can’t be objective. I can’t leave myself out of it. And frankly, I am as excited for this as I have been for any sporting event in a long time.

Full disclosure: I grew up in the Detroit area. The first time I went to a hockey game, the Toronto Maple Leafs visited the Detroit Red Wings, and I was hooked, begging my parents for a pair of skates and a chance to play. I followed the Wings, and I watched the Leafs, too, because we could get “Hockey Night in Canada” on Channel 9 from Windsor, Ontario.

I went to the University of Michigan. I covered hockey and football for The Michigan Daily, the school newspaper. I joined the Detroit Free Press after college, and my first job was covering Michigan football. My second was covering the Red Wings. (Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr’s reaction when I left for the Wings beat: “You got demoted?”) I still live in Ann Arbor, five miles from the Big House, and have U-M football season tickets.

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.